Quoting: Davisoc
Simmons was bread to be a shark. He would be terrifying on this team.
I like the idea of Simmons as a shark for sure. He plays the game the right way and is exactly the kind of vet Doug Wilson loves! And if he plays with anyone but pavelski, the sharks will have the best and second best net front tip-goal scorers in the league. That would instantly make all point shots extraordinarily dangerous.
The only issue is the price and the age. Simmonds is 30. That means any extension would start at age 31. No doubt he'll want good $$ and term, so any extension of 4+ years will carry significant risk, not to mention likely upwards of 6M+ (he's been consistently roughly 25-30 goals, 50-60 pts not to mention the intangibles).
Meier is not on the table unless it's a superstar coming back: that would be someone like Seguin, Panarin, or Karlsson. The second half for Meier last year showed that he could be a 30 goal scorer easily next year. He had 21, but 19 of those came from dec 4 onward. that's 19 goals in 57 games (27 goals per 82 games.) And that was with minimal PP time as 18 of his 21 were EV. No reason to think he can't go up from there with a regular PP shift, so you dont deal 22 year-old, likely 30 goal scorers for 31 year old players with the same production that will surely decline.
If any top 9 forward will move in a deal for someone not named seguin, panarin, or Karlsson, that person will almost surely be Kevin Labanc. Banker has good speed, quickness, and vision, and significant trade value, but a seemingly lower ceiling than a guy like Meier, Hertl or the like. He is not strong on the puck and does not play the cycle-possession style that hertl, kane, meier, couture and company do. I still really like him and would prefer he stay, but he is the only top 9 piece that I could see dougie dangle.
If the flyers tank (not too likely, but who knows), then maybe a package of picks and prospects could get him: 2020 1st+Norris+Roy? (basically 2 1sts and a 2nd rounder). He'd definitely fit the sharks identity.